Statistics show that around 300 cattle farms disappear every year due to wolves. However, information from the Ministry of Climate and Environment clearly shows that since the wolf population has been placed under strict species protection, it has been systematically growing, as has the range of this species. Currently, based on data from the Central Statistical Office for the years 2014-2022, there is a noticeable steady increase in the number of wolves in Poland (from around 1,300 individuals in 2014 to almost 4,300 in 2022).
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– Success from the environmental point of view also means that the number of reports of conflict situations involving wolves has been increasing recently. The species is increasing its numbers and range, which is why direct contact between wolves and people is becoming more frequent, also in areas where it has not been seen for a long time – wrote Mikołaj Dorożała, Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment to the parliamentary agriculture committee.
What the Ministry of Climate and Environment calls a "natural success" is a huge problem for many rural residents. Further reports of mangled dogs, sheep or cows call into question the steadfast adherence to the principle of strict species protection of the wolf.
Breeders question the mechanisms proposed by the Ministry of Climate and Environment: "mitigating human-animal conflicts" and, above all, the system of paying compensation to farmers harmed by wolves, which is completely ineffective. Compensation only compensates breeders for the loss, and does not fully refund the lost income. At the same time, compensation is very often refused because it is not due in a situation where it occurred from sunrise to sunset, and the animals were left without direct care.
Due to the growing problem of wolf attacks on farm animals, especially cattle, we appeal to the government to urgently take action to change the provisions of the Nature Conservation Act. Our priority is to precisely specify the definition of "direct care" of farm animals. It is worth emphasizing that in recent years, cattle breeders, taking care to improve animal welfare, often decide to graze for several months on open pastures, where cattle stay around the clock. The current regulations need to be adapted to realities in order to effectively protect both breeders and their animals – appeal representatives of the beef sector.
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A real threat to hundreds of farms
Although estimates say that "only" 0.08% to 0.12% of the cattle population is threatened by wolves, in absolute numbers it is between 6 and 7 thousand animals per year. Considering that the average size of a farm keeping cattle in Poland is about 20 animals, this means that wolves kill about 300 medium-sized cattle herds in Poland per year.
– Minister Mikołaj Dorożała claims that breeders do not properly protect their farm animals or do not protect them at all. I invite the Minister to Polish farms keeping cattle. Let him explain to farmers that in his opinion, the entire area under pastures should be tightly fenced from the rest of the world and guarded by the breeder throughout the night. Let's get down to earth. Protection measures such as high fences and electric grids are ineffective against determined predators," says Jacek Zarzecki, President of the Polish Association of Beef Cattle Breeders and Producers, who emphasizes that in 2020-2022, compensation payments to farmers were refused 146 times due to insufficient care at night.
Breeders are also appealing to the government to increase funds in the Regional Directorates for Environmental Protection to co-finance the purchase of electric fences, flares for pasture protection and shepherd dogs, along with the cost of training.
– We expect the ministry to act quickly and decisively in this regard, which will help avoid conflicts. We have proposed legislative solutions that are easy to implement, but to this day the ministry has done nothing about it and the problem is growing. Attempts by the Ministry of the Environment to shift responsibility to the Minister of Agriculture will not solve the problem. We want a wise and transparent law that will protect our property and our animals. In the case of losses caused by wolves, the State will pay for these losses fairly. This is the only way to stop the last resort, i.e. actions to reduce the wolf population in Poland – sums up Jacek Zarzecki, President of the Polish Association of Beef Cattle Breeders and Producers.
